Resonance: Temple of Light

Riding the coattails of Hatm0nster’s post on Fable II from earlier in the week, it reminded me of one of the most lovely songs I’ve ever heard in a video game, and my most favorite song from the Fable series: the “Temple of Light” theme.

In Fable‘s lore, the Temple of Light is the “good” place of worship that sits opposite the “evil” place of worship, the Temple of Shadows. Buildings representing both temples appear in Fable and Fable II, and the “Temple of Light” theme first debuted in the original game. Upon entering the temple, which is always vacant except during one particular quest, the theme wafts away in the background.

True to its name, the Temple of Light is a place to find lightness, goodness, and peace, and the theme song certainly reflects those qualities. There’s meditation to find within the simple chimes that amble on with and without care. And though there’s not much variation within the song itself, save for a couple quick picks ups and tonal shifts, it remains potent enough for its two minute and thirty second span. It’s that potency despite its serenity that keep me coming back to the song in moments of stress.

And that’s what was great about the song in Fable as well. While not the most stressful RPG one could play, fable was not without its moment of frustration. And when it felt like Albion was going to crumble around my intrepid but clueless hero, I took solace in the Temple of Light. As long as you were in the temple, the theme played on a continuous loop, and I know I lost a good many minutes simple taking in the silence within and around the music there.

The bombast and fast-moving beats of game music makes it easy to overlook the quieter tunes that often and easily carve out their own niches. What are some of you favorite gaming slow jams?

Yup, they are pretty much one in the same! And I used to do that as well with Fable 2, just leave the menu on for a bit before playing. It was a nice respite before jumping into the silly madness of the game. 🙂

This is indeed soothing. I love slow, peaceful songs. This reminds me a lot of In the Earthen Womb in Illusion of Gaia. Another beautiful, slow song. Some of my favorite songs are peaceful or sad songs. I’ve just gotten the urge to listen to Memoria from FF9 now….